Body support and weight distributor



Feb. 2, 1954 E. g. DUSTIN BODY SUPPORT AND WEIGHT DISTRIBUTOR 2 Sfieets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 3, 1949 3 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY Feb. 2, 1954 E. s. DUSTIN 2,667, 17"

BODY SUPPORT AND WEIGHT DISTRIBUTOR Filed Oct. 5, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 E 6'. DUST/N ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 2, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT orrics BODY SUPPORT AND WEIGHT DISTRIBUTOR Ernest G. Dustin, near'Galva, Ill.

Application October 3, 1949,;Serial No. 119,283

body in an erect position. Among the objects of this invention are the provision of an apparatus which can be utilized to support a part of the weight of theupper portion of the human body by means of more or less rigid props engaging under the arms of the user; the provision of an apparatus of the type indicated which can move, readily, to various positions to accommodate the shifting of the body; and such further objects, advantages, and capabilities as will hereafter-appear and as are inherent in' the construction'di'sclosed herein. My invention further resides in the combination, construction, and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings and, while I have shown'therein what is now regarded as the preferred embodiment of this invention, I desire the same to be understood as illustrative only and not to be interpreted in a limiting sense.

In the drawings annexed hereto and forming apart hereof,

Fig. 1 is a view of one form of the present invention in use by an individual in a sitting position;

Fig. 2 is an elevation thereof;

Fig. 3 is a section taken substantially along the plane indicated by the line 3-3 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 419 a plan of the base portion;

Fig; dis a detail section taken substantially along the plane indicated by the line 5'5 in Fig.4;

Fig. 6 is a vertical section of the head' portion of a modified form of the structure shown in Fig.3;

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal section of the lower portion of a modified form of the structure shown:

inFig. 3;

Fig. 8 shows another form of the arm loop, partly'in section;

Fig. 9 is an edge view of the form of arm loop shovmin Fig. 8; and

FigelO is a partly sectional elevation of a still further'modified form of theprops.

They present. invention comprises a base I, to whichispivoteda pair-of arms 2 to; support the subiectunderthe: armpits; and a harness: 3 toecuxe. thaul per endso'f thezarms-tin desired position.

The base I is constituted of a rigidiplate4 upon.

which there. may be positioned a seat. pad 5.. A bracket 6 is secured to the plate 4 to depend at its forward edge. This bracket 6 prevents rear.- ward movement of'the base I when the device is in use, withthe base I positioned on the seat of. a truck, tractor, or thelike.

The arms 2 are connected to the base by ball andv socket joints 1. These joints 1 are constituted of sockets 8 which. are secured to the plate 4 at either side thereof in any of a plurality of holes9. Rods were provided at their lower ends with balls II of a size to be received and fit within the sockets 8. Eachrod I 0;.as shown in Figs- 3 and 5', is provided with a flange I 4 thereabout in proximity to the ball II. A ring I5 is threadedly engaged in eachsock'ett above the ball- II, whereby to' retain the. ball: within the socket.

Thesockets 8 and retaining" rings I5 are provided with notches Iii of a width. to receive the portion of rod IIl between the ball. If and the flange It. The flange i4 is'spaced from the ball I I sufliciently to clear the socket 8 when the rod is pivoted into the notches I6. The threaded ring I5 is of a thickness less than the distance from the ball II to theflange I 4 whereby, for assembly, the ring I5 may be placed upon the rod I0, between the ball H and the flange I 4;, and then screwed into the socket 8. Although the notch I6 cuts completely through the -retaining ring I5'-, the bearing of ring I5 upon the ball I [prevents collapse of the ring' I5 under load.

Thearms 2 further comprise a pair of tubes IIand' I8, oneslidable within the other. The outer tube 11 provided witha thumb screw I la, at its lower end, for maintaining the inner tube IB-in adjusted longitudinal position. The innerdiameter oftheinner tube- I8 is such as to receive rod ID in readilyslidable engagement.

A U-shaped bracket I9 is secured to the upper end of each outer tube [1. pad-20 is rotatably secured between the-arms ofthe'bracket i9, and the pads 2-0 are proportioned turnedlover into a loop 22c which surrounds the To; these: pads; are secured; the. straps 23 which. may: be secured to tubular shoulder straps 2t.

gether in pairs, one behind the neck and the A soft cylindrical- 23 should then be adjusted sufficiently tightly to hold the straps 2| on the shoulders. The tubes 11 and I8 should then be adjusted to give adequate support to the back and allow some of the load to be carried in suspension from the shoulders. When the user wishes to move to some other job, all that is necessary is to'get up. The inner tubes i8 slide off of rods in. By having a base I on each equipment, the user may then move to another job withoutthe necessity of further adjustment.

In Figs. 6 and '7 is shown a'modification of the support structure shown in Fig. 3. This has a lower. section, as shown in Fig. 7, and an upper section, as shown in Fig. 6. The head portion is freely rotatably supportedwith relation to the outer tube i1 and has a central cross tube 30 held in adjusted position with relation to the angular rods 3| and 32 by set screws 33. The upwardly extending portions 34 ofthe rods 3| and 32 extend into the tubular member 35, which corresponds to the tubular member 2| of Fig. 3, and are held in position therein by set screws 36. Heavy sponge rubber 3! is wrapped around the tube 39 and secured in place, preferably by a wrapping of soft leather. i

As shown at 8a in Fig. 7, the form of the sockct 8 may be varied. Also, the supporting rods 3! and 32 may be replaced by a singlerod 38, as shown in Fig. 8, in which a piece of hose, split along one side, as indicated at 39, surrounds the rod 38 and holds the tube 2! in place on the rod. The rod 38 is slidable through an arcuately bent metal tube which has a threaded stud welded thereto, which is adapted to be screwed into one end of the tubular member 11. During use, this structure has the loop at its upper end arranged at an angle to the direction of the tube H, as shown in Fig. 9.

In Fig. 10 there is shown a modified form of latch for holding the parts I! and 18 in adjusted position. This comprises a ring 40 surrounding the tube 51 and slidable lengthwise thereof be-,

tween the heads 42 and 43. This is for the purpose of holding the spring 4| against the tube I! so as to force the latching means into a hole 25 whereby to prevent relative longitudinal shifting of the parts I1 and I8.

It is of course understood that the specific description of structure set forth above may be departed from without departing from the spirit of this invention as. disclosed in this specification and as defined by the appended claims.

Having now described my invention, I claim:

1. A body-support comprising a base for the user to sit upon, a pair of rods upwardly extending therefrom, one at each side of the user in sitting position, a pair of shoulder supports, each of which comprises a pad for positioning under the armpit, and a pair of tubes in lengthwise slidable adjustment, one within the other, with the pad carried from the upper end of the outer tube, the inner tube being freely slidably positioned upon said rod, and freely slidably removable therefrom, the'above structure making it possible for a portion of the weight of the upper body of the user to be suspended from the shoulders, and a strap means engageable with the pad and holding same connected to the shoulders of the user so that he can rise from the seat without previously detaching the pads from the tubes.

2. A body-support in accordance with claim 1 in which said rods are pivotally connected to said base by a universal joint.

3. For use in a device of the class described comprising a support and an arm adapted to be carried thereby for ready removal therefrom, a

ball and socket joint for pivotally connecting said arm with said support, said joint comprising a socket adapted to be secured to said support, a rod having a ball upon one end thereof and a flange about said rod spaced from said ball, a retaining ring for threaded engagement in said socket to retain the ball therein, said ring being open at one side and said ring being sufliciently thin whereby said ring may be passed between said ball and flange to position said ring about said rod, said flange being spaced from said ball a distance sufiicient to clear said socket upon pivoting of said rod, and a tube slidable upon said rod for bearing upon said flange.

4. A body-weight distributing apparatus, comprising a base-plate, a pair of uprights having universal connection with said base-plate, each.

upright having a cross-head embodying cushioning material for engaging under the arms of the user to support part of the weight of the body, a strap connected with each cushion to engage over the shoulders of the user and hold the cush members, the lower of said members being connected with the base, the upper members being freely removable upwardly from the lower members, means at the upper ends of said upper members to receive the armpits of the user, and a shoulder-encircling means securely connected to the upper end of each of said upper members for operatively connecting said upper members with the user, whereby the latter may rise from the;

body, support and move about without disconnecting the upper members from his body. 6. A body-support as set forth in claim 5 having means connecting the upper portions of said shoulder-encircling means to prevent the latter from becoming disconnected from the body of the user when said user rises from said base and the'i upper members are released from the lower members.

'7. A body-support as defined by claim 5 having means for connecting the lower ends of said lower members whereby said arms may be swung downwardly, relative to the base, into a position sub stantially parallel to the plane of said base.

8. A body-support comprising :a base for the user to sit upon, a pair of rods upwardly extending therefrom, one at each side of the user in sitting position, a pair of shoulder supports, each of which comprises a pad for positioning under the armpit, and a pair of tubes in lengthwise slidable adjustment, one within the other, with the pad carried from the upper end of the outer'tube, the innerv tube being freely slidably positioned upon 1 said rod, and freely slidably removable therefrom, the above structure making it possible for a portion of the Weight of the upper body of the user to be suspended from the shoulders, and a strap means engageable with the pad and holding the same connected to the shoulders of the user so that he can rise from the seat without previously detaching the pads from the tubes, said rods being pivotally connected to said base by a universal joint, each of said universal joints being provided with slotted portions at one side to receive the lower end of the associated rod when the rods and tubes are swung into a position approximately parallel and adjacent said base.

ERNEST G. DUSTIN.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Alden June 13, 1 876 Van Vleck July 7, 1885 Tate Feb. 20, 1906 Kraus Apr. 7, 1908 Jessup July 28, 1914 Calthrop Apr. 4, 1916 Kuderer Feb. 5, 1918 McGrath June 17, 1919 Seils Mar. 26, 1929 Janosko June '18, 1946 Wenger Nov. 20, 1951 

